Treesearch

This paper describes the current state of the U.S. economy and provides general and statistical information on forest products markets in terms of production, trade, consump­tion, and prices. Market developments are described for sawn softwood, sawn hardwood, softwood log trade, wood-based panels, paper and paperboard, fuelwood, forest product prices, and housing starts. Policy initiatives that can affect domestic markets and international trade in wood products are also discussed in some detail. Data are provid­ed through the end of the year 2008 with forecasts through 2009.

Eleven strains of T. palustris were evaluated for mass loss and production of phosphate buffer soluble oxalic acid on pine wood blocks treated with 0.5% N’,N-naphthaloylhydroxamine (NHA) in a soil-block test. After 12 weeks higher percentage mass loss was observed in control groups for 10 strains, while TYP-6137 was shown to be tolerant with no difference between the untreated controls and 0.5% NHA treated blocks. Strain TYP-6137 was evaluated at 6, 8, and 10 weeks for mass loss and production of oxalic acid in a colorimetric assay with increasing levels of NHA treatment (0.5–1%). Tyromyces...

The U.S. Embassy in Finland and the Finnish Ministry of Employment and Economy jointly sponsored a U.S. Em­bassy Science Fellowship to survey biorefinery research and development (R&D) activities in Finland and the United States and to seek cooperative research efforts between the two countries. The biorefinery effort in Finland started from concerns about global climate change and a need to comply with terms of the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas emis­sions. The biorefinery program in the United States started from concerns about the rising cost of crude oil and a desire to reduce...

Hybrid inorganic/organic thin films deposited on wood substrates have been shown to lower the rate of moisture sorption of the wood. Deposition of such thin films can be accomplished by sol–gel deposition or by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. This paper describes in situ sol–gel deposition of hybrid inorganic/organic thin films on wood substrates using methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMOS) as precursor and trifluoroacetic acid as catalyst. MTMOS has desirable performance characteristics such as substrate penetration and water repellence. The surface chemistry of wood specimens coated...

In this paper, we take a preliminary look at techniques for comparing sorts that yield grades of lumber. We propose methodology that takes into account differences in grade prices and the costs associated with misgrading. We focus on two- and three-category sorts, but our results could be readily extended. We provide web links to sample FORTRAN implementations of this methodology for the case in which the strength predictor and strength have a bivariate normal distribution and the load distribution is also normally distributed. We indicate how these approaches would have to be modified for...

If you are having trouble choosing the right wood preservative system for your application, you are not alone. Dozens of products are available, some older types have gone out of use, others may be completely inappropriate for your application. As designers, specifiers and builders, you need to understand key information to be able to navigate through all of these chemical treatments to find the one suitable for your wood products.

Timber products are vital in the construction, manufactur­ing, and shipping segments of the U.S. economy. Nearly all new houses are built principally with wood. Wood building products are also used extensively in the construction of nonresidential buildings and in the upkeep and improvement of existing structures. Solid wood is also used to produce, package, and transport manufactured products. In 2006, an estimated 6.8 billion ft3 (187.5 million m3) of solid wood products were consumed in the United States, down slightly from 2005 but more than twice the consumption in 1950. Over the...

Market share growth for wood products in the area of non-residential construction will require research, technology transfer, and education for architects, engineers, general contractors, and others involved in the decision-making process. To accomplish this in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, an assessment of user-based needs is desirable. This paper summarizes the results of three half-day needs assessment workshops with design professionals and wood product suppliers from southern California. From these workshops, an overall assessment of wood as a build­ing material was...

A spreadsheet-based model, LSY (Log-sort Yard Cash Flow Analysis), has been constructed to aid in the pre-feasibility and financial feasibility analysis of log-sort yards. It is meant to be referred to concurrently with this documentation and is available for downloading at no cost from the Forest Products Laboratory’s website at: https://www.fpl.fs.usda.gov/documnts/fplgtr/fpl_gtr184/. The model is flexible, allowing up to 20 species and grades that each may be sorted into up to 19 products, giving a total of 380 different output possibilities. The mix of those species and grades can be...

A new species of Ernobius is described from material collected at the Griffith State Nursery in Wood County, Wisconsin, U.S.A. Ernobius youngi new species is described from a single adult female bringing the number of Ernobius species known from North America north of Mexico to 31.